Standards for Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructure

Engineering standards are extremely important in determining how modern infrastructure is built, operated and maintained to be safe and resilient over the infrastructure asset’s lifetime that it serves a community. Today’s standards are usually based on conditions of “stationarity” – meaning that the statistics observed in the past will define those of the future. However, changes are occurring in the frequencies and intensities of climate and weather extremes, and there is real uncertainty about future magnitudes. Therefore, engineers must build and rebuild existing infrastructure that is more adaptable and resilient to what we know are non-stationary, changing conditions. The past is not the future, and engineers are doing all they can to build the adaptive and resilient infrastructure we need for the future.